RUSSIA — Superior Aluminum Products hosted Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, 4th District, Monday morning to discuss tax reform, immigration and healthcare reform.
Jordan was given a tour of the plant, which employs 50 full-time employees and produces aluminum fencing, railing and columns for a predominantly commercial customer base, before sitting down with seven employees for a deeper discussion.
The discussion ranged from immigration to hiring, but one major topic discussed during the meeting was healthcare. Doug Borchers, president of Superior Aluminum Products, voiced concerns on rising healthcare costs.
“In 2010 healthcare cost us $200,000,” Borchers said. “Last year it was $500,000. In a seven-year period, healthcare is now more than two and half times what it was costing us.”
Jordan agreed that rising costs are unsustainable, but did not seem to think the current proposed healthcare bill would be much help.
“This healthcare bill is still not full repeal (of the Affordable Care Act), but it’s better than where we are,” he said.
Drug testing and hiring also came up in conversation, and Borcher’s shared Superior’s method of hiring reliable workers. “We offer a $100 reward to anyone who can bring us a good worker who will show up on time. We used to care if they were trained, but now we train them,” he said.
Dayton was recently ranked as the worst for drug overdoses per capita by CDC data, above Baltimore and Philadelphia.
Jordan agreed that the opioid epidemic was “scary” and said he had spoken to the first business in his district that had revived a worker on the job.
The representative also strongly advocated for a work requirement on government handouts like medicaid and food stamps.
“Around 61 percent of working age Americans are working,” he said. “We’ve averaged about 1.3 percent (economy growth) during the Obama years. We’re not going to grow at 3 percent if you don’t have a workforce.
“About 16 to 17 percent of our population is on food stamps, and we have a bill that says if you’re getting SNAP or are an able-bodied person in medicaid, you have to have some sort of job to keep receiving benefits. When states push this, people get out of the program and go get a job – what they’re supposed to do.”
Jordan cited the recent placement of work requirements on food stamps in Alabama, which saw an 85 percent drop in participation.
“When studies are done, and you have people who need to get out of welfare because they have a time limit or a work requirement,” Jordan said, “they actually a few years down the road get to a better position in life. Imagine that.”
The conservative representative also spoke on immigration, specifically about a bill he believes will be voted on soon.
“It’s good legislation, like e-verify, and will have a movement towards stricter enforcement on the border,”Jordan said. “Illegal crossings are down, just because Trump is enforcing the law.
In late April, President Trump said border crossings were “the lowest in 17 years,” which was confirmed by several organizations.
Earlier in the day Jordan visited his Lima office before returning to Washington, D.C.
